Once upon a time in a magical place called New York lived 2 boys, Richie Pineda and Kris Kesoglides. They were friends and had the same goal, they wanted to be musicians. But they were teenagers and had no starting place.
Then one day in school they saw a flyer for an upcoming concert called Rock the House. The guys realized that this was their big break. Kris had a not so secret obsession with the Killers. This led them to the song they’d play: When You Were Young. So they took their chance and signed up. However they quickly realized that the song would sound incomplete with just two people playing. So the boys went out to find more players.The first person they found was Kris’ cousin Justin Hughes. They recruited him as their bass player. Richie was the lead guitarist and Kris sang vocals and played the keyboard. They still needed a rhythm guitarist and a drummer, the position that seemed impossible to fill.
The band talked to their friend Andy Cuttuci who they knew played the guitar and he agreed.
The guys now looked for a band manager and by now everyone knew that Richie and Kris had put together a band. When the news went around that the guys were looking for a manager, their friend Wasim Salim volunteered.
Now all that was left was the drummer, but they had no money for a drum set and they didn’t want to get a drummer who would have to play air drums. So they had a bake sale and raised $160. Which, when combined with money that the guys chipped in, equaled enough for a drum set. The band decided to recruit Kris’ friend Darwin Javier to play on their new electric blue drum set. Now the band was complete and as they began to work on the song, they found another problem, where were they going to practice?
They started at Richie’s house but that didn’t work because the space wasn’t big enough to fit the drums. They then found out that they could practice in Kris’ basement. But that didn’t work either because neighbors began to complain and bang on the floor. Their third and final move was to Andy’s basement, which was the perfect fit.
At this point there was only one month left until the concert and they still needed to perfect the song. So they continued practicing the song but the fact was they didn’t have a name.
They considered Maggots in the Basement, Imperial Statues, The Studs, Starfighters, and Paint Fumes Can Kill. Some of them were okay but none of them fit right. Then in a flash of genius Richie found inspiration. He was listening to the Blue Oyster Cult when it hit him, The Midnight Cult. When Richie told everyone else his band name they loved it, and the boys were one step closer.
Time went by and the band continued practicing. Pretty soon there was only one week left. The band made a drastic decision, they decided to learn one more song for the encore. After much consideration they chose Blitzkrieg Bop by the Ramones. They were able to practice it twice before the big day.
Rock the House was on a Friday and the guys spent the whole day unable to pay attention in class. When the final bell rang the band went to Andy’s house to practice one last time. Then it was time to go and the guys packed up their stuff and headed back to school. They had a sound check and then waited for after intermission, when it was their time slot. The cafeteria was packed. Everyone showed up, even people’s friends from other schools, and before they knew it, it was time.
The lights went up and the host introduced them. They walked on stage and the crowd screamed in anticipation. Kris started with the Enterlude and all went quiet. Then Richie played the opening chord, and The Midnight Cult was living their dream.